Oktoberfest becoming rapists' stalking ground

Women are to be granted a sanctuary at Munich's Oktoberfest to stop the rising number of rapes and sex attacks at the beer-swilling folk festival.

Seven million visitors are expected to attend the 170-year-old event over the next two weeks. It has come to represent the archetypal image of Germany, with women in dirndl frocks and men in knee-length lederhosen.

But the folksy reputation has been tarnished by the rising number of rapes. At last year's festival, six rapes and 11 other sex attacks were reported. Police estimate that the real rape figure is as high as 120.

Observers believe that the rise in attacks is connected to the event's popularity among young people. About 60 per cent of the crowd is aged 30 or under. Many of them take to dancing on tables in a state of undress in the 14 huge tents which each house about 10,000 people.

Maike Bublitz, of Frauennotruf, a hotline for women in Munich, said the festival always had a peaceful image. "But because it is sexually charged through so much alcohol consumption, some men come here looking to take advantage of women because they think they'll be easy prey," she said.

"The attacks are ignored or belittled because they don't fit with the popular image of the fest."

In response to the problem, emergency aid stations for women have been set up at the festival. Counselling is to be offered from a discreet white caravan to those who have been assaulted or threatened.

Prominent posters around the grounds address the problem with the slogan: "A glass of beer, a chicken leg, a kiss and then a bit of sexual harassment perhaps?"

A woman reveller said: "There's definitely a sense of an anything-goes carnival attitude. Men feel they have the right to go further than usual because everyone's drunk." She felt safer partying in the tent catering to gay revellers, she said.